Fitness
Of Runs, Cops and Dopamine
The thing about running that gets me out of bed in the morning is its ability to clear my head. Usually, I get distracted easily. It’s extremely hard for me to focus on one thing for more than ten minutes. Say I am immersed in a beautifully written book with gripping plot. After a short while, especially when the plot takes a sudden twist, I’ll find myself wondering if I left the iron box on. Or say I am in the middle of an intense meeting, the ones where the client really wants you to stroke their ego. When the client turns to me and says something like “Don’t you agree with me, Joy?” I start to wonder if I forgot my lunch in the fridge at home and suddenly I get a panic attack. But, when I am running, it is unbelievable how high my concentration span gets. As I start my run, I will pick one thaughty/idea and I will turn it over in my head and run with it until the end. My thought process is continuous and clear.
There’s also the other motivation, one that many of you will agree with. The hope that the waistline will be one centimetre narrower after burning those evasive calories, and maybe finally I can have that hourglass body I have been dreaming of. After every run, I get home and imagine that I can finally fit in the blue chinos that I last wore six months ago only to step into them, pull them up and they adamantly refuse to go past the knees.
But you know what I love most about running? A GOOD run. A run that exceeds my expectations, reminding me of the Adidas slogan “Impossible is nothing.” That run where I get to the planned 10kms and I decide to increase the mileage by another three kilometres, just because I can. Or the one where I aspire to set a new time record and I do exactly that. I love those runs where I literally have a spring in my step and I find myself attracting weird stares from other runners, only to realise I was singing aloud to Vybez Kartel’s Romping Shop. I love a GOOD run because it releases dopamine, a pleasure hormone that is stimulated when we strive towards a goal.
About two weeks ago, I had one of those fulfilling runs on a Tuesday morning. Later, as I drove to work , the traffic on Ring Road from Kileleshwa approaching Riverside Drive was outrageous. I couldn’t slide right into the inner lane, so I drove all the way up as if I was going to Raphta Road and stopped at the Junction to turn right. The cop flagged me, came to my windscreen and said to me “Sweetie, why are you overlapping?”
Usually, when cops pull me over, they give me the hump. It doesn’t matter if I am wearing my good luck Mac Rebel lipstick, or my skirt has ridden up my thighs. Traffic cops are naturally mean to me and at some point I was convinced that they are misogynists. But not on that Tuesday morning, when this dark-skinned pot-bellied officer came over to my window and flashed this beaming smile, his glimmering white teeth almost blinding me for a second. I blushed. He let me go with a warning, “Baby usioverlap tena.”
I drove off with a profound lesson lingering in my head. That when you have a good run, nothing can put you down. Not even the Kenya Police. The universe shows you love and the world is your oyster.
P.S. This week I hope to cover ten kilometres in slightly under an hour. I know, its long overdue but finally I have my head in the right place. Curious to know what your fitness goals are or what you have accomplished that you worked really hard to achieve. Please share in the comments section below.
Outfit from: Collabor Active Wear
Shoot location: Royal Golf Club
Images by: Royal Image Photography
My goal this year is to be able to use the hashtag #mumswholift as I proudly flaunt chiseled arms. So far though, I have been using the excuse of finishing up my bikram yoga classes before starting hard gym work. Well, the 10 classes are now done and I have run out of excuses. So Monday it’s me, the gym and my trainer who doesn’t take B.S.
I want to start my morning run after realizing I have add 5kg I have been in comfort zone for awhile but waking up at 5am meenh??not easy
Yessss..that the waistline will be one centimetre narrower…
I don’t know if this is a fitness goal,but this week or rather this month am planning to increase my speed of swimming. Taking advantage of the good sunny days before we get to the cold season.
Improving on speed is definitely a goal and I wish you all the best with that! I want to take up swimming too later on in the year so hopefully we can compare notes then Wanjiru 🙂
Baby? Usioverlap tena… Hahahaa!!! Madam?
I felt defiled lakini was more than happy to not get into trouble with Mr Officer!!
I never seem to run past 5kms and am always huffing and puffing.whats your secret?am so envious
Aren’t we all always huffing and puffing at some point? I think if you run consistently you should be able to improve on your mileage. I still have bad days where I pant like a dog but the struggle continues Raych.
I love to read about your runs and fitness lifestyle.
It is encouraging to read that i’m not the only one strughling with shaving off inches around the waistline. I’ve lost all weight I think I should but still the love hurdles refuse to cave.
I nevertheless wish you better success than mine, in getting those flat abs. I had sworn this will be my year of flat abs and toned behind. Lakini…
Lol Karen you are so hilarious! Don’t you dare quit, let’s do this together and flaunt our abs in December right before pilling on the kilos again hehe